The Four Holy cities and the Four elements

  1 - Jerusalem: Element of fire (Temple, sacrifices)

There are 10 levels of holiness regarding Jerusalem. Each level has different laws pertaining to it. 

  1. Israel - for instance, sacrifices of the Omer cannot be brought from produce grown from out of the Land of Israel.

  2. Walled Cities - in biblical times a leper could not enter a walled city.

  3. Jerusalem - in Jerusalem we can eat sacrifice, a sacrifice of thanksgiving, that cannot be eaten out of the city.

  4. Temple Mount - one has to go to a mikvah/immersion in water to enter the Temple Mount.

  5. Level 5 through to Level 9 pertains to the holiness in and around the Temple.

  6. The tenth level refers to the Holy of Holies on the Foundation Stone. On top of this area in the spiritual worlds rests the Gateway to Heaven and to G-d's Throne of Glory.

  7. There were 10 miracles mentioned by the Tannaic scholars which occurred on the Temple Mount: for example, no-one said that the area was too narrow for him to stand: there was no fly on the Temple Mt and no woman ever miscarried from the smell of the sacrifices, etc.

The Temple and the Foundation Stone are connected to the 70 nations and the Third Temple.

Present day Jerusalem from the Old City.

2 - Hevron: Element of earth (burial)

  • Connection to Patriarchs, Matriarchs.

  • Beginning of Kingship. 

  • Center of Tribe of Judah.

  • Rabbi M. Cordovero and transference to Kabbalah students.

  • Renewal of Smicha (ordination).

  • Compilation of Shulchan Aruch by Rab. Yosef Caro.

Machepelah "Tomb of the Patriarchs" in Hevron. Photos by SL Phares

 

3 - Tiberias: Element of water (Kinneret, oral law revealed)

  • Sanhedrin.

  • Compilation of Mishnah.

  • Compilation of Jerusalem Talmud.

  • The Rabbi's and Lineage.

  

4 - Tzfat/Safed: Element of air (Kabbalah, Rabbi Arizal, Rabbi Cordovero)

  • Arizal and transference of teaching to Rabbi Chaim Vital.

  • Rabbi M. Cordovero and transference to Kabbalah students.

  • Renewal of Smicha (Ordination). 

  • Compilation of Shulchan Aruch by R. Yosef Caro.

A home in Tzfat. Photo by SL Phares

 B.    Walled Cities in Time of Yoshua [Joshua]

  1. Shilo

    Center of Tribe of Yosef, Temple in Shilo.

    Renewal of Prophecy in Shilo.

  2. Jericho

Entrance to Land of Israel.

The Holy Terumah. 

The law not to rebuild Jericho.

  

 C.  Other Cities

       Modi'im, Gaza, Meron, Beit Lechem.

  

 D.  Other Sites

       Jordan River, Mt Hermon, Mt Sinai.

This information was written, published and compiled by Atarah Gur and kabbalahtorah.com. Copyright © 2007Atarah C. Gur